The increase in battery performance and advances in laptop design has lead to new mobile platforms with lighter design, greater processing power, and longer operational time. Conventional desktop machines are either being replaced with laptops or are often used in tandem with docking stations. Laptops provide mobility of data and allow the user to remotely interact with a stationary corporate server. The popularity of mobile platforms has not, however led to new applications that provide the remote user with greater mobility. Instead, the remote user must still depend on conventional messaging system designed for immobile desktop machines.
Conventional electronic mail ("e-mail") and voice mail systems are oriented towards local users connected to a corporate server. The local user has immediate access to all incoming e-mail and voice mail messages received by the corporate server because the local user's system is directly coupled to the corporate server. Typically, the direct coupling between the local user's system and the corporate server is performed via a local area network ("LAN") or a direct link. Direct connection allows the local user to interact in real time with any communication received by the server. Following the conventional e-mail system a remote user must login into the corporate server and down load, read, or listen to stored messages. Thus, the remote user has to repeatedly login into the server to check for incoming messages.
One disadvantage of conventional e-mail communication exists when a remote user attempts to remain in continuous communication with the corporate server. To ensure continuous communication with a corporate server the remote user requires frequent access to a dedicated line or must rely on a cellular phone line connection via a wide band connection. Access to a dedicated line constrains the remote users mobility because a specified phone jack is desired for communication. A cellular communication does not require a specified phone jack. The cellular connection, however, has a slow data transmission rate, typically advertised as 9600 baud modem rate, when compared to a phone jack/wire connection, typically 33,000 baud rate. Additionally, cellular lines do not provide a stable communication channel and have an average throughput much smaller than the advertised 9600 baud rate. The need to have frequent access to a dedicated phone/cellular line presents a disadvantage to a remote user. Therefore, it would be desirable to replace the conventional communication channel between a corporate server and a mobile platform with a method that allows the remote user to remain in continuous communication without relying on a dedicated phone/cellular line.
Conventional communication between a remote platform and a corporate server also requires multiple accounts. A local account and a remote account is required for a single user. The corporate server forwards the incoming message to a second account. The user, if remote, logs into the second account and checks new e-mail messages. This system presents a disadvantage because account requirements are duplicated. Therefore, it would be desirable to replace the dual account system with a method that uses a single account to pass e-mail messages.
Conventional communication between a remote platform and a corporate server has a further disadvantage of requiring batch communication. Batch communication describes a remote user logging into a corporate server and downloading a group of stored messages. Thus, under batch communication a remote user is unaware of urgent or immediate communications. Further, batch communication typically consist of a large volume of data transmissions because a group of messages is transferred to the remote user for a given period of time (each time a user connects). Transmitting large volumes of data compounds the disadvantages associated with slow baud rate cellular communication and requires longer access to a phone jack, thus reducing mobility.
Regardless of the communications media used, a protocol guaranteeing delivery and integration of messages across a wide variety of messaging system is necessary. This message delivery protocol exists in the prior art. For example, both narrow band communications (typically used in mobile paging systems) and wide band communications transfer outgoing messages to an intermediate protocol that guarantees delivery and integration of messages across a wide variety of messaging system. The industry standard Business Quality Messaging ("BQM") protocol, described in internet site www.bqm.org, provides this intermediate protocol for narrow band communication. Similarly, the industry standard Windows.TM. Socket Application Programmers Interface ("WinSock") specification version 1.1, available from ftp.microsoft.com provides this intermediate protocol for a wide band communication.
The BQM protocol was developed by a number of companies including Intel Corporation (of Santa Clara, Calif.), Microsoft Corporation (of Redmond, Wash.), International Business Machine ("IBM") Corporation (of Armonk, N.Y.), and Compaq Corporation (of Houston, Tex.) to provide an industry standard guaranteeing compatibility and message delivery between remote systems. Similarly, the WinSock specification defines a standard binary interface for TCP/IP transports with Windows.TM. specific extensions. WinSock also acts as an interface between programs running on a client and resource available on a server.
Protocols also exist for two way narrow band communication. For example, narrow band devices typically communicate with each other using a two way wireless communication in accordance with Motorola Flex technology developed by Motorola Corporation (of Schaumburg, Ill.) or Mobitex technology developed by Ericsson Corporation (of Stockholm, Sweden). Similarly, protocols also exist for the integration of disparate messaging applications. Typically, the interface between messaging systems is controlled by the Message Application Programmers Interface ("MAPI") developed by Microsoft Corporation (of Redmond, Wash.).
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art communication between mobile platforms and a server. Laptop 100 includes a cellular device (not shown) communicating with receiver station 130 via cellular antenna 120. Receiver Station 130 in turn communicates with server 160 via phone jack 150. The cellular connection of laptop 100 provides the user great mobility. In contrast, laptop 110 must directly connect to phone jack 140 to communicate with server 160. However, both laptops 100 and 110 must login directly to secondary accounts within server 160 to review incoming messages or down load old messages from server 160. Further, once disconnected from server 160 laptops 100 and 110 are unaware of incoming messages, thus creating the disadvantages described above.